While some of us may still marvel at the magic of Siri, we're more likely to spend 15 minutes feeling frustrated with Apple's digital assistant after trying, again, to set a reminder to DVR "Game Of Thrones." Barbra Streisand, however, is not one to let technology get the best of her. When it was brought to her attention that Siri had been pronouncing her name wrong, she handled the problem like a complete boss. Streisand explained on NPR's Weekend Edition how Siri pronounced her last name "with a soft S, like sand on the beach." She added, "I've been saying this for my whole career."

Rumors about Amazon's Spotify and Apple Music competitor are surfacing once again, and from the sounds of it, the service may launch sooner rather than later. Following a report in January from The New York Post, Recode says Amazon will launch a new music streaming service possibly as soon as September--potentially with a very interesting twist. The purported music service will feature two tiers. The first is the standard 10 per month streaming service, with all the millions of tracks that come with said services. The second possibility, however, is what Amazon is probably truly excited about.

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Barbra Streisand is really tired of people mispronouncing her name – especially Siri. Entertainment legend Barbra Streisand has a bone to pick with Apple's automated personal assistant, Siri. Streisand told NPR's Scott Simon that Siri pronounces her name wrong during an episode of "Weekend Edition Saturday." Simon demonstrated this on the air by asking Siri, "Who's the only female vocalist who's had hit records for six straight decades?" Siri responded, "Barbra Streisand," pronouncing the second "s" like a "z." "Streisand, with a soft's,' like sand on the beach," Streisand corrected exasperatedly.

Microsoft Corp. on Monday said it has agreed to buy Genee, a "smart" scheduling app, as the company continues its effort to embed AI in all of its digital experiences. Rajesh Jha, vice president of Microsoft's Outlook and Office 365 business, said in a blog post that the acquisition will help "further our ambition to bring intelligence into every digital experience" as it builds new Office 365 productivity capabilities and services. Powered by AI, Genee could be used to enhance Microsoft's own virtual assistant, Cortana, which competes with Alphabet's Google Now and Apple Inc.'s Siri. By reading users' emails, Cortana can track packages and set reminders based on location, and other tasks. With Genee, it would be able to automatically set up business meetings by recognizing key phrases in emails. Both Google Now and Siri can interact with calendars to coordinate meetings on command, said Mike Gualtieri, a principal analyst at Forrester Research.

Co-founders Ben Cheung and Charles Lee, who plan to join Microsoft, started Genee in 2014 to simplify the time-consuming task of scheduling (and rescheduling) meetings. It's especially useful for large groups and for when you don't have access to someone's calendar. Genee uses natural language processing and optimized decision-making algorithms so that interacting with a virtual assistant is just like interacting with a human one. For an example of how Genee works, let's take a look at a common scheduling problem. Say you want to meet a potential customer, Diana, for coffee.

Microsoft Corp.'s acquisition of the smart scheduling app Genee reflects a drive to add artificial intelligence to all of its digital experiences. The deal, announced Monday, could let Microsoft enhance its virtual assistant Cortana, to better compete with Alphabet Inc.'s Google Now and Apple Inc.'s Siri, as CIO Journal's Angus Loten reports. With Genee, Cortana could automatically set up business meetings by interpreting keywords in email. Though AI gets much attention these days, many CIOs don't have a clear idea about how to use the technology or maximize its value. Microsoft is expanding its AI expertise partly through acquisition, recently buying Wand Labs, a smart messaging app, and SwiftKey, a tool that predicts what users want to type next.

The blurring of the physical and digital worlds is creating new business opportunities for companies perceptive enough to embrace options including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and smart technologies. "Digital business is about more than technologies. It is about creating new business models and new ways to engage with customers, partners and suppliers in your business ecosystem," explained Betsy Burton, co-author of the report. Gartner defines a hype cycle as "a graphical depiction of a common pattern that arises with each new technology or other innovation." Burton estimates nearly 100 hype cycles will be produced over the course of this year, but noted that four major trends are dominating the technology landscape. Nexus Technologies, notably cloud, data, mobile and social, are all passing through or have already exited the Trough of Disillusionment.

Scheduling meetings can often involve a lot of back and forth over emails, something Genee solved with its solution. A user sends an email to the person they wanted to set up a meeting with and copy in Genee, like a personal assistant. Genee claims to understand the details of the meeting, including the date and location of the meeting. The app then emails the recipient directly with options that fit the user's calendar and preferences. Genee can do this because it uses natural language processing, according to the company.

Cortana to compete with the likes of Google Now and Apple's Siri. Software giant Microsoft has bought a smart scheduling app Genee, as part of its effort to embed artificial intelligence (AI) to compete with the likes of Google Now and Apple. The start-up, which was founded in 2014, will shut down its service on September 1. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by Genee founders Ben Cheung and Charles Lee, who will join Microsoft. Genee specialises in using machine smarts to handle the time-sucking task of scheduling meetings.